Album Review: The Red Shore - 'Lost Verses'

22 May 2009 | 11:21 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

When new and old combine.

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French writer Victor Hugo once declared, ‘music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent’. Billed as a celebration of earlier works, ‘Lost Verses’ is a statement of sincere intent. Since the bands inception in 2004, The Red Shore has been climbing the heavy metal ladder (metaphorically speaking), along the way creating a strong reputation for themselves.


This nine-track offering carries on from where 2008’s critically acclaimed ‘Unconsecrated’ left off; with the band this time re-visiting their back catalogue. Like giving your car a new paint job, The Red Shore reworks previous songs giving them a completely new feel. It appears someone has turned the dial from heavy to brutal – the riffs are fiercer, the drums are faster and the music is louder. In the words of Triple J’s Andrew Haug, ‘it’s death metal just with a different haircut’.  


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Opening track ‘The Valentines Day Massacre’ begins with a brief haunting interlude, reminiscent of any Scandinavian black metal release, before unleashing a fast array of vicious vocals and rapid blast beats. The most apparent difference between the newer version and the one found on 2006’s ‘Salvaging What’s Left’ is the predominant death metal guitar riffs. The distortion is high and the tuning is low. Furthermore, the metronome must have taken a beating such is the tempo of the newer adaptations

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Fans will appreciate the notable additions of ‘Flesh Couture’, ‘Knives and Wolves’, and ‘Thy Devourer’, which until now had only been played live as opposed to appearing on one of the band’s official releases. 

The charm of ‘Lost Verses’ is that it doesn’t merely re-record previous songs by giving it a fresh mastering. Rather, the band makes subtle changes and re-phrasings like that found in the intro of ‘Sink or Swim’.  

This is definitely an album to bang your head to.

If a picture paints a thousand words, then music must paint a thousand more. ‘Lost Verses’ honours the bands past, showcasing everything good about The Red Shore whilst simultaneously highlighting why they are destined to become one of Australia’s premier acts (if they are not already). 

  1. The Valentines Day Massacre
  2. Sink or Swim
  3. Flesh Couture
  4. Knives and Wolves
  5. Pulling Teeth
  6. Effigy of Death
  7. I Only Smile When Your Bleeding
  8. Thy Devourer
  9. What Doesn’t Kill You